Lebanon rolls-out country-wide Ethernet network

Ogero Telecom, Lebanon's sole fixed telephone line service provider, is building the Middle East's first Metropolitan Area Network. The network will take Ethernet outside the office and onto a high speed WAN.

Extending an Ethernet network outside the office has always seemed like a dream scenario for network managers, but the way in which Ethernet signals degrade over increasing distances has always kept the technology locked in the LAN.

Service providers are now solving this challenge by creating Metropolitan Area Networks (MANs), that deliver sufficient Ethernet “base stations” to overcome the distance degradation problem.The first such MAN in the Middle East is being installed in Lebanon by the fixed line operator, Ogero Telecom. The company is introducing a nation wide MAN using technology from Extreme and project management from Ericsson Lebanon.

Ogero's MAN will be made up of 57 core sites and 36 access sites and will cover all of Lebanon from North to South and East to West, with a Gigabit Ethernet Ring connecting the points of presence (POPs) around Beirut and Gigabit Ethernet extensions connecting the major cities.

Extreme Networks has been the communication industry’s strongest advocate for Ethernet outside the LAN. The company’s slogan is “Ethernet Everywhere;” a commitment that caught the eye of Ogero."Our decision to implement Extreme's advanced solution was mainly based on the company's vision of 'Ethernet Everywhere' making broadband services omnipresent and allowing us to seamlessly connect to the MAN using compatible native mode protocols," said Mohammed Jamil Shawqi, president and CEO of state-owned Ogero Telecom.

Ericsson was chosen because of its local commitment to the Lebanese market as well as its international experience of handling large scale projects, according to Shawqi.